SIAC announces 2018-19 men’s basketball all-conference honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) announced its annual men’s basketball awards to cap the 2018-19 season. This year’s all-conference teams, which features fifteen student-athletes, were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.

Morehouse’s forward, Omar Alston, headlines the 2019 SIAC Men’s Basketball All-Conference team as the conference’s leading vote-getter to earn 2019 SIAC Player of the Year honor.

Morehouse’s Robert Andrews who was named Newcomer of the Year. LeMoyne- Owen’s Devin Booker garnered the league’s Freshman of the Year honor and Lane’s Kendarius Ash was tabbed this year’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Morehouse’s Coach Grady Brewer was selected as the 2019 SIAC Coach of the Year.

Alston, a senior forward from Waldorf, Maryland, is the second straight Maroon Tiger to garner the league’s top honor in the past eight years. Alston shot an impressive 57.7 percent from the field and averaged 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, leading the Maroon Tigers to their second straight SIAC East Division Championship. He ranks sixth among NCAA Division II players in double-doubles. The 6’6 forward finishes the regular season as the conference leader in defensive rebounds with 7.7 per game and ranks fourth in assists, dishing out 3.8 per contest.

Andrews is the second Maroon Tiger to collect a Newcomer of the Year award since Morehouse’s 2012-13 campaign. The junior guard earned the honor as his 44% shooting from beyond the arc was the best mark in the league. In his first campaign with the Maroon Tigers, Andrews was the second leading scorer, behind Alston, averaging 12.5 points per game.

Booker is the second Magician to be named the conference’s top freshman in the past eight years. In his rookie campaign, the Chicago native led the LeMoyne-Owen offense with 15.8 points per game while shooting 46.9% from the field and a conference-best 86.5% from the free-throw line.

Ash, a 6’7 senior forward, collected his third straight Defensive Player of the Year honor. The Decatur, Georgia native led the league averaging 11.6 rebounds per game which is ranked fourth in NCAA Division II. Ash was the second leading scorer for the Dragons and led his team by pulling down 209 total rebounds this season.

Coach Grady Brewer collects his third Coach of the Year honor in the past eight years. Brewer, who is in his nineteenth season at the helm of the Morehouse basketball program, led the Maroon Tigers to their seventh 20-win season and their fifth regular-season title. Morehouse is currently ranked No. 21 in the NCAA Division II national poll while seeking the SIAC Championship and their fourth NCAA tournament appearance.

The 2019 SIAC Basketball Tournament is set to tip off on February 25, with the final scheduled for March 2. The Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama will host the tournament for the third time, with 13 men’s teams vying for the SIAC crown.

2018-19 SIAC Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team
First Team

Second Team

Honorable Mention Team

Coach of the Year
Grady Brewer, Morehouse

Defensive Player of the Year
Kendarius Ash, Lane

Freshman of the Year
Devin Booker, LeMoyne-Owen

Newcomer of the Year
Robert Andrews, Morehouse

Player of the Year
Omar Alston, Morehouse

Courtesy: SIAC